IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 5, 2024 — The Motorcycle Safety Foundation collaborated with RiderCoach Jasmine Bluecreek Clark to produce a free video to help deaf and hard of hearing students and their interpreters better prepare for the hands-on training portion of the MSF Basic RiderCourse. It was also created to improve communication among students, interpreters, and MSF RiderCoaches for the licensing class. This is part of MSF’s efforts to make motorcycle training more accessible to everyone in the community.
All students — deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing — receive the same motorcycle training and instruction, but there are words and phrases used in motorcycle class that have no signs in American Sign Language. RiderCoaches also need to communicate with students across the training range and will use MSF signs, which are often different from ASL signs.
“For those special words and phrases we use in motorcycle class, I found it helpful to create special signs,” said Bluecreek Clark. “Interpreters can fingerspell these words, but it can be slow. Imagine fingerspelling ‘friction zone’ each time it’s used — and it’s used often. So these special signs have been very helpful.”
“Also, ASL has signs for speed up, slow down, start, and stop, but on the range, students need to see these signs from farther away, so MSF RiderCoaches use bigger signs for those actions,” said Bluecreek Clark. “RiderCoaches use these same MSF signs for all classes nationwide. Therefore, we found it helpful for deaf students and their interpreters to know what these signs are and what they mean before class.”
The video includes Bluecreek Clark demonstrating and explaining the MSF signs and going over the special signs that were created to help with communication. Some of these special signs are for phrases like friction zone and gear shift lever, and for explaining the gear shift pattern.
“We’ve been working on putting this video together since June, and it happens to be ready in time for National Deaf Awareness Month,” said Jacqueline Peterson, Vice President of Communications for the MSF. “We hope this is helpful for deaf and hard of hearing students, their interpreters, and the training community at large. We want to make motorcycle training accessible and approachable to anyone looking to learn to ride.”
Click here for the Motorcycle Training Range Signs video. Training sites, administrators, and RiderCoaches are also encouraged to review MSF’s tips and best practices when working with deaf or hard of hearing students and their interpreters. (The tips sheet can be found under “Library > RC/RCT Materials > Coaching Deaf Students” after logging into retsorg.org.)
“We also want to remind the training community of the $15,000 grant that the National Motorcycle Safety Fund created to reimburse MSF-recognized training sites that hire sign-language interpreters,” Peterson said. “There are still funds remaining, and we encourage sites to apply.” More information on the NMSF grant can be found here.
“Motorcycle safety is something all people should have access to,” said Chella Man and Xoài Pham, artists and advocates for the Deaf community. “Improving accessibility not only creates opportunities for collective learning but shared joy. We all deserve to experience the self-discovery and community that happens through motorcycles, not limited by background or identity.” Man, who is deaf, and Pham successfully completed the Basic RiderCourse in June, earning their motorcycle endorsements.
